Central Division
Colorado Avalanche
Starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov aggravated his groin injury in practice on Monday, so the Avs called up Calvin Pickard from Lake Erie. Even with Varlamov out, Reto Berra had to sit out and didn’t get any game time this week, as Calvin Pickard started all three games this week, winning one of them. Colorado still sits last in the Central, tied with the Dallas Stars, who have one game in hand on the Avalanche.
Minnesota Wild
Nino Niederreiter’s Minnesota Wild hosted the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Down 1-4 after 40, the Wild managed to fight back and find a way to tie the game with eight minutes remaining before Niederreiter scored his 12th goal of the season to give his team the win against the club that drafted him fifth overall in 2010. He had an even rating and three shots on goal in 15:11 TOI. They started their three-game roadtrip in San Jose on Thursday on a negative note with a 1-2 loss. Niederreiter didn’t get on the score sheet, but picked up one minor penalty in 15:20 TOI. They travelled on to Glendale, AZ, where they played the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Niederreiter marked the 1-0 only 02:48 into the game and had two shots on goal in 16:26 TOI. Minnesota is fifth in the Central Division, last in a logjam of five teams within nine points.
Nashville Predators
The Preds started off their week with a 3-0 win over Reto Berra’s Colorado Avalanche. Roman Josi didn’t get any points, but had a plus-2 rating and one shot on goal in 27:30, before getting a season-low 22:29 minutes of ice time in a 5-1 against the Arizona Coyotes two days later. He got a helper on James Neal’s go-ahead goal midway through the first, that proved to be the game-winner. He was on the ice for another goal and finished the game with a plus-2 rating. Nashville’s third road game of the week in San Jose was a setback after winning three of the previous four games. Josi had three shots on goal and was a minus-1 in 29:11 in his team’s 0-2 loss to the surging Sharks. Nashville is third in the Central Division, two points behind division leaders St. Louis, but have a game in hand on the Blues.
Pacific Division
Calgary Flames
Sven Bärtschi got sent down to the AHL this week after winger Mason Raymond returned from an injury and was activated from IR. While Jonas Hiller returned between the pipes, Raphael Diaz was a healthy scratch in the Flames’ game in Toronto on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs squeezed two pucks behind Hiller on 27 shots, before netting two empty-net goals for a 4-1 win. Diaz returned to the lineup for the game in Buffalo two days later, while Hiller backed up Karri Ramo. The swiss D only played 9:50 and didn’t get on the score sheet. When Hiller got his second start of the week in Pittsburgh on Friday, Diaz was back in the press box as a healthy scratch and saw his Swiss teammate lose the game 1-3. Hiller conceded three goals on 22 shots and only had a .864 save percentage. Calgary is fourth in the Pacific Division, two points behind the San Jose Sharks and the Vancouver Canucks.
San Jose Sharks
After a rough stretch with a few games as a healthy scratch, Mirco Müller made his way back into the Sharks’ lineup on Sunday in Edmonton. He played 12:20, had two shots on goal and one minor penalty in his teams 1-2 loss. The Sharks had a chance to bounce back against the same opponent two days later at home and managed to get five past Edmonton goaltender Ben Scrivens. Müller remained pointless and had an even rating, along with one shot on goal in 16:29. When Nino Niederreiter and his Minnesota Wild came into town on Thursday, Müller saw 16:31 of ice time but was on the ice for Minnesotas lone goal in the Sharks’ 2-1 win and finished the game with a minus-1 rating. He got sent back into the press box on Saturday for the game against Nashville. San Jose is ranked third in their division, nine points behind the leaders from Anaheim.
Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver’s sixth game of their seven-game roadtrip on Sunday in Ottawa ended in a loss, as the Canucks gave up a three-goal lead and lost 3-4 in a shootout. Yannick Weber had three shots on goal in only 13:09, while Luca Sbisa also had an even rating with two shots on goal in 22:46. The Canucks also lost their last game away from home, 1-3 at Bell Centre in Montreal. Sbisa saw his ice time go back to 19:18 and ended the game with a minus-1 rating. Weber played 16:03 and had two penalty minutes. Back home, Vancouver hoped to end their three-game skid against the New York Rangers on Saturday night. They could not live up to their potential and lost 1-5 after three goals in the first seven minutes. While Weber only was a minus-1 in 19:11, Sbisa had a nightmare game and finished with a minus-4 rating in 17:21. After Vancouver’s four losses in a row, the Anaheim Ducks managed to get a nine-point gap between them and the second placed Canucks, who are tied with the San Jose Sharks, but have played two games less.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
Montréal Canadiens
Sven Andrighetto is off to an unbelievable start to his NHL career. He is on a three-game point streak after his first call-up to Montreal, following another two points in two games this week. He saw 14:41 of ice time and had an assist on Tomas Plekanec’ game-winner in Montreal’s win over Vancouver, before getting his second goal of the season in the Canadiens’ 6-2 win over LA on Friday. With Lars Eller still out for another 10-14 games, it’s expected that Andrighetto gets an extended look on Montreal’s top six lines alongside Plekanec and Sekac. The Canadiens are third in the Atlantic, one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings.
Metropolitan Division
New Jersey Devils
Damien Brunner and the New Jersey Devils mutually agreed to terminate Brunner’s contract, after Brunner did not want to suit up for the Devils’ AHL affiliate in Albany. He was not picked up on unconditional waivers and therefore became a free agent on December 12. Brunner rejected an offer by CSKA Moscow GM Sergej Fedorov and joined HC Lugano on a multi-year deal.
Philadelphia Flyers
An unlucky shootout loss in Columbus marked the opening point of Mark Streit’s week. Streit had an assist and a plus-one rating in 23:22. The Flyers returned home for a game against division rival New Jersey on Thursday, a game they had to win to not lose touch to their opponents in the fight for a playoff spot. Streit had two helpers and a plus-one rating in 23:20 in his teams 4-1 win. After two days rest, the Flyers took on the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. The Swiss defender didn’t find his way on the score sheet, but finished the game with a plus-1 rating in 20:38. Philadelphia is tied with New Jersey for fifth in the Metropolitan Division and trails the Washington Capitals on the third and last playoff spot by six points.
AHL – Quick Look:
Sven Bärtschi (Adirondack Flames – CGY) had one goal and a combined plus-1 rating along with five shots on goal in three games this week. Tanner Richard (Syracuse Crunch – TBL) got one assist, a combined plus-1 rating and fives shots on goal in three games this week. Joel Vermin (Syracuse Crunch) had one goal and two shots on goal in three games.
